Monitors seek high-level gov’t, MILF meet for peace
KORONADAL CITY—President Marcos needs to engage regularly with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) to ensure that all objectives of the landmark Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) are achieved leading to the signing of the exit agreement between the parties, hopefully within the term of the current administration, the independent Third Party Monitoring Team (TPMT) said.
In coming up with this recommendation, the TPMT, which the government and the MILF mandated to monitor, review and assess the implementation of the CAB, pointed out that the President “is in charge of providing overall policy direction in the conduct of the nation’s comprehensive peace process.”
“In order to reinforce and strengthen the role of the panels, we recommend that the GPH (Government of the Philippines) Panel should report directly to the Office of the President, thereby confiding in the authority and the institutional backing of the President,” the group said in a statement released in time for the launching of its 119-page Ninth Public Report, covering the period November 2023 to April 2026.
The TPMT highlighted a previous statement from Mr. Marcos to drive home its point: “A peace agreement is only as good as the people and the parties who will implement it. Because brave may be those who wage wars, but braver are those who seek peace and who win that peace.”
Tracks
Formed in 2013, the TPMT recently concluded its 57th monitoring visit for the Bangsamoro peace process, which is largely characterized by the political and normalization tracks.
The political track includes the establishment of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), which has been in a transition period that will end on Oct. 30 when the first set of elected members of parliament shall have assumed office. The first Bangsamoro parliamentary election is scheduled on Sept. 14, after four postponements. (See related story on this page)
The normalization aspect includes the decommissioning of MILF fighters, which the front suspended in July 2025 and involving 14,000 combatants and 2,450 weapons for the last of four phases. A total of 26,145 MILF combatants had been decommissioned for the first three phases.
The other elements of normalization, including recruitment of qualified former combatants into the police, redeployment of government soldiers, disbanding of private armed groups, and transitional justice and reconciliation are still, according to the TPMT, at initial or planning stages.
“Unfortunately, [the] implementation of the normalization track has fallen behind the political track [which is nearing completion],” the TPMT, headed by former European Union diplomat Heino Marius, said in a statement.
Mixed picture
The CAB was signed in March 2014 after 17 years of negotiations.
“Today, 12 years after (the signing) of the CAB, we look at a mixed picture. There is reason for hope, but there is also lingering uncertainty,” the TPMT said.
Presidential Peace Adviser Mel Senen Sarmiento welcomed the TPMT report, giving assurance that the agency will address the concerns it raised, particularly involving the CAB’s normalization aspect.
“[We are] committed to fully realize the provisions of the landmark peace agreement as directed by no less than [President Marcos],” he said in a statement.
Sarmiento vowed to work on the rollout of initiatives jointly identified by the parties for the decommissioned combatants, such as social protection, capacity development, livelihood assistance, and other community-based initiatives in their communities with the end in view of improving the lives of the Bangsamoro people.
